Are Musky Rods Good Swimbait Rods?

[Jtrout]

For Christmas I got a a bunch of gift cards from bps and wanted to build a swimbait rod so I have to get one from there and was looking at the st.croix musky mojo rod 7'6 in h f I bought a cardiff to put on it. So my question is would a musky rod be sufficient enough? I Wana spend around 150

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Generally speaking, yes. It depends on the rod and what swimbait you'll throw. The fish don't know whether the rod is marked "Musky" or "Mackerel" etc. 

[Bluebasser86]

You can get an Okuma Guide Series swimbait rod in your price range that will be much better suited for swimbaits, or are you mainly planning on muskie fishing and occasionally throwing a swimbait?

[Jtrout]

I'm gonna be throwing 6-8 hudds I looked at the okuma but bps doesn't sell it and I had a bunch of gift cards to there so I was trying to get one from there.

[Bluebasser86]

BPS carries a couple rods that would be good options for the swimbaits you mentioned. St.Croix has a swimbait rod in the Mojo lineup.  There's a Veritas that would do the job as long as you aren't throwing the 8" a ton. If you're mainly planning on fishing the 6" you have a bunch of options. 

[Jtrout]

Ok the mojo bass looks good would u get the 7'9" it's got a lure rating of 1-4 ounces

[Bluebasser86]

Ok the mojo bass looks good would u get the 7'9" it's got a lure rating of 1-4 ounces

If you're planning on fishing the 8" Hudd that's the one you'll want. I fished with a 7' 10" H/F BPS Extreme as my swimbait rod for a couple years. I did fish an 8" Hudd on it a bit despite only being rated to 3ozs and it did the job pretty well. That might be another rod for you to look at while you're making your decision. 

[Jtrout]

Yeah I went to bps and looked at the extremes but noticed it was only rated up to 3 ounces so I didn't get it but if u say it can I believe it. Thanks for all the info!

[A-Jay]

You could check out the Lamiglas X-11 Casting Rods. 

 

I do not own one but TW says this - Actually part of Lamiglas’ salmon and steelhead rod lineup, the Lamiglas X-11 Casting Rod offers all of the attributes you need for fishing big, heavy swimbaits. Designed for back bouncing for salmon in deep fast moving water, its strengths translate perfectly to swimbait fishing. It has the power to move a big bait at the end of a long cast and make a solid hooksets, and its advanced IM graphite blank delivers excellent sensitivity and feel as you slow roll you swimbait along the bottom or retrieve it through the water column. By no means a broom stick, the X-11 loads up well during the retrieve, on hook sets, and as you launch extra long casts to specific targets. Deep press chrome guides constructed from stainless steel also provide the durability to stand up to heavy weight bass and rigorous fishing conditions, while an exposed reel seat furnishes additional sensitivity. Perfect for fishing a range of swimbaits - anything from 1 to 8-ounces - the Lamiglas X-11 Casting Rod is a sophisticated tool, exhibiting astonishing sensitivity and control, with highly focused affordability.

 

The reviews are mixed.

 

A-Jay

 

[deep]

Take a good good look at the handle lengths, and action (no, I don't mean power) of the blank, before buying.

[aMurderOfCrows]

What rod did you go with and how is it working for you?

 

I have been considering the Mojo Bass swimbait rod for an all purpose muskie rod and did a search on the topic, came up with this thread.   Just curious how its worked out.

 

I won't be throwing anything over 3 ounces, I don't troll so there's no way I'm going to cast anything heavier than that all day long.

 

The only drawbacks so far as I see for my purposes are the handle length 'cause I fish out of a kayak and the overall length cause it won't lay all the way down in the bed of my truck or go into the cab corner to corner.

[WRB]

Most musky rods make poor Swimbait bass rods, the butt section is too heavy, the handle too long.

IROD heavy swimbait rod is $150, 18" handle, 7'9", 4-8 oz lures, very popular out west.

Tom

PS, call Matt Neumans at iRod and see if he will sell you a blank and reel seat if you want to build it yourself.

[Big Bait Fishing]

Most musky rods make poor Swimbait bass rods, the butt section is too heavy, the handle too long.

IROD heavy swimbait rod is $150, 18" handle, 7'9", 4-8 oz lures, very popular out west.

Tom

PS, call Matt Neumans at iRod and see if he will sell you a blank and reel seat if you want to build it yourself.

Musky rods are where it's at for swimbaits !!! I don't know what musky rod you've been using !! I only use musky blanks for swimbait rods , bass swimbait rods handles are way to short and most of them are 8' and under , a good swimbait rod is preferably 8'6" or longer , plus , if you throw big baits , like musky fishermen do , you want a rod that can handle the 10-16 oz. Baits . I'm going to have a St.Croix 9' h ( Big Nasty) rod blank built , spiral wrapped with micro guides !!

So make no mistake , musky rods/blanks make EXCELLENT swimbait rods !!!!

[TorqueConverter]

The only musky baits I throw in the 2 oz + range are Revolution Shads and I throw them on a BPS Musky Graphite Series rated at 2-10 oz.  Being a musky rod the handle is very long but that's not necessarily a bad thing.